GM-VOLT : Chevy Volt Electric Car Site

As we follow the Volt’s progress there is always a palpable sense of urgency as GM remains unprofitable and continues to burn through cash at a considerable rate.  Especially problematic for them has been the dramatic rise in gas prices and precipitous plunge in truck and SUV sales from which most of their profit comes.

Chairman Wagoner has told us GM will have enough liquidity to get through the end of 2009 and even “beyond that” even if US auto sales remain at the very low levels they have recently fallen to.

Of course a large infusion of government cash could help them get to and through the Volt launch and to hopeful better, profitable, days.

Ever honest and vocal GM vice chairman Bob Lutz told reporters that to make new efficient cars like the Volt, GM must retool their plants but probably can’t raise the cash needed to do so through tight private credit markets.  He said “the American auto industry is deserving of government loan guarantees.”

A $25 billion automaker loan program was already created by last year’s energy bill, but congress has so far failed to authorize the $3.75 billion necessary to fund it. Despite that, automakers are now asking the government to double the loans to $50 billion.

Lutz said “don’t say bailout proposals, all the government is doing is underwriting the loan.”

Source (Detroit Free Press)

In our last post we gave readers the chance to weigh in on whether they preferred the looks of the concept Volt or the production Volt as we’ve seen it so far from the leaked Transformers2 set video.

Understandably its not really fair to compare fuzzy, grainy, dark, and odd-angled shots of the production car to the beautiful studio renditions we have of the concept. Yet, despite this considerable handicap, the new production version wins hands down.

865 people voted, and of those 560 (65%) preferred the production version and 305 (35%) preferred the initial concept. Im sure the upcoming presidential race won’t come out so definitively!

Wait until we finally see the detailed proofs in the lustrous electric silver tone, and I’ll bet that percentage goes up.

Thanks to reader Zita who provided the photoshop comparisons shown above and below this post letting you compare the two versions in purple.

GM vice chairman Bob Lutz has told reporters that the automaker has indeed decided on which of the two battery making teams they have chosen to supply the Chevy Volt battery packs.

Lutz would not specify which company team that is, LG Chem/CPI or A123/Continental. High ranking sources within those battery companies advise me they they don’t know either. The decision should be made public sometime between now and the end of the year.

Per Lutz, “the Volt is real … and test work is progressing nicely. We haven’t hit any obstacles so far for the batteries. They are all performing flawlessly. It’s almost scary we are not seeing any problems with the batteries.”

Source (Detroit Free Press)

On another note, GM is acting officially off guard about yesterday’s leak of pictures of the production form VOLT from the Transformers2 set. GM spokesperson Rob Peterson told reporters “you can tell it caught me off guard. I didn’t even realize it (the Volt) was out of the state of Michigan.”

Peterson also said the car in the video was “representative of the production vehicle” which would be revealed soon.

Source (Edmunds)

I have also received confirmation from other sources that the interior photo of the Volt was the same shown by Volt designer Bob Boniface at the recent CAR conference, as the picture below reveals, meaning that it is correct.

One question remains. Is GM secretly involved in the leak of these images to build up excitement to the actual reveal? While they won’t say when that will be many speculate it will occur at the GM Centennial Event on September 16th.

From reader requests, here’s a poll. From what you see so far, do you like the look of the concept or the production version better?

The Chevy Volt production design car is scheduled to appear in the upcoming film Transformers2.

It turns out the vehicle has been caught by video camera on the movie set.

Unbelievable, this is the real deal folks!

This is the first time in history the public has a view of the car.

And here is the VIDEO:

Thanks to Chris N again for the tip!

Source (Transformers Movie Blog)

Motive Magazine seems to have gotten hold of a picture of the Chevy Volt’s interior. It was posted today.

It looks different than the most recent clay mock-up Volt chief designer Bob Boniface showed ABC news.

When I was in the design lab I had seen multiple variants of the interior, and it wasn’t clear which was the one they chose to go to production with. Certainly this image shows a sleek and futuristic appearance with a vivid touch screen.

I cannot confirm the accuracy or origin of these images, but take note of the display stand upon which it sits. It is possible these displays are being prepared for GM’s upcoming Centennial event and some insider took the shot.

Here is the clip from the ABC news video:

Source (Car Lounge Forum ) Thanks to Chris N for the tip.

It only been a few hours since we heard from Toyota that they plan on bringing plug-in versions of the Prius into test fleets in 2009.

GM Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz responded to this news in an interview with reporters.

He indicated that the race between Toyota and GM to create a plug-in car is “meaningless” as the Chevy Volt and plug-in Prius are too different to compare. He cited the very short range in the Prius and it’s need for gas to go any significant distances.

He also said he expects Toyota 2009 plug-in test fleet would be a very small number. On the contrary, the production-version Volt however will be in a large test fleet by late 2009.

Source (IHT)